6.  The applicant was born in 1983 and is currently detained in Moscow.
7.  Until 2011 the applicant lived with his wife and three children in Urgut in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
8.  According to the applicant, in July 2011 a friend with whom he used to “discuss religious topics” was arrested. Shortly thereafter several plain-clothed officers searched the applicant’s apartment, taking away a number of his books. Shortly afterwards the applicant left Uzbekistan and moved to Moscow, where he apparently lost his passport soon after arriving.
9.  On 1 February 2012 the Uzbek authorities charged the applicant with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a radical Islamic organisation banned both in Uzbekistan and Russia which calls for the overthrow of non-Islamic governments and the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate. On the same day the applicant was put on the wanted list.
10.  On 2 February 2012 the Samarkand Town Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in absentia against the applicant, citing the above charges.
11.  On 17 April 2013 the Russian police, acting pursuant to the warrant of 2 February 2012, arrested the applicant in Moscow.
12.  The next day a public prosecutor interviewed the applicant regarding his background and the circumstances of his arrival in Moscow. The applicant submitted that he was aware of the charges laid against him by the Uzbek authorities and had crossed into Russia in order to avoid prosecution and find a job. It was specifically noted in the interview record that the applicant had no passport on him.
13.  On 19 April 2013 the Cheremushkinskiy District Court of Moscow, referring to the charges against the applicant in Uzbekistan and the absence of a registered residence and a job in Russia, authorised the applicant’s detention pending extradition until 17 May 2013. No appeal was lodged against that detention order.
14.  On 13 May 2013 the Deputy Prosecutor General of Uzbekistan submitted an extradition request. It included diplomatic assurances that the applicant would not be charged with any further crimes or handed over to a third State without the Russian authorities’ consent. It also contained assurances that the applicant would be afforded a fair trial and provided with legal aid and the necessary medical assistance, and that he would not be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.
15.  Following receipt of the above request, on 17 May 2013 the Cheremushkinskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention pending extradition until 17 October 2013 referring to the same grounds as in the order of 19 April 2013, and noting in addition that the applicant had absconded from the Uzbek authorities. The applicant did not appeal against the extension order.
16.  It appears that the extradition proceedings are still pending before the competent Russian authorities.
17.  On 17 October 2013 a deputy prosecutor requested the Moscow police to check whether the applicant’s stay in Russia complied with the relevant legislation. Among other things he enquired as to “the date of the actual expulsion [of the applicant] from [the territory of] the Russian Federation and the date of his actual handing over to the competent authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
18.  On the same day the applicant was taken to a prosecutor’s office, where the deputy prosecutor ordered his release as the time-limit for his detention pending extradition had expired. Immediately upon release the applicant was brought to a police station, where he was charged with an infringement of the Russian immigration legislation (an administrative offence punishable by expulsion) and arrested again. An administrative detention order and an administrative violation report were drafted there and then. In addition to those documents, the applicant gave a written statement entitled “Explanations”, which reads as follows:
“In 2011 I left the Republic of Uzbekistan because I was being prosecuted on grounds of my religious beliefs. I consider that the opening of this administrative case is unlawful because ... an administrative violation report must be drafted immediately after an infringement has been established. That infringement was established [by the authorities] at the time of my arrest on 17 April 2013.
...
My [administrative] removal to Uzbekistan would mean that I would be handed over to the authorities of that country, which would infringe my right not to be subjected to torture and violate the absolute prohibition of expulsion of persons who are at risk of torture. Furthermore, I consider the opening of the administrative case to be unlawful as the proceedings regarding my extradition to Uzbekistan are pending at the present time... The purpose of the administrative detention is to hand me over to the Uzbek authorities and in the event of my expulsion I would actually end up in Uzbekistan. Accordingly, my deprivation of liberty does not serve a legal aim. I would like to point out that the decision to return me to the Republic of Uzbekistan would irreparably infringe my rights as guaranteed by Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. I am being prosecuted in Uzbekistan on grounds of my [religious] beliefs, [therefore] I am a member of a vulnerable group for whom the risk of torture is particularly high.”
19.  On 18 October 2013 the Zyuzinskiy District Court of Moscow examined the above charges. During the hearing the applicant acknowledged that he had violated the immigration rules, but claimed that an administrative removal would amount to an actual extradition in the present case, because he would be handed over to the Uzbek authorities in any event. He referred to the high risk of ill-treatment and cited international reports (in particular, a report which was submitted to the District Court by the Russian office of the UNHCR and specifically stated that the applicant’s return to the country of his origin would violate his rights under international law) and the Article 3 case-law of the Court regarding extraditions to Uzbekistan. Without any assessment of these allegations, the District Court found the applicant guilty of infringing the immigration legislation, sentenced him to a fine and ordered his administrative removal from Russia. Pending expulsion, he was to be detained in the Moscow Centre for Detention of Foreign Nationals. The applicant appealed, reiterating his allegations of the risk of ill-treatment, noting that his expulsion would be unlawful as the examination of his application for refugee status (see below) was still under way, and that his detention pending expulsion would violate Article 5 of the Convention as the expulsion order had set no time-limits and no periodic judicial review of his detention was possible.
20.  On 22 November 2013 the Moscow City Court upheld the first-instance judgment. Like the District Court, it did not analyse the applicant’s arguments about the risk of ill-treatment. As to the refugee-status proceedings, the City Court noted:
“Notwithstanding the applicant’s position, his application for asylum in Russia and the examination of his request [for refugee status] under the relevant legal procedure do not affect [the existence of] the actus reus of the administrative offence [committed by the applicant].
Besides, as can be seen from the reply to the Moscow City Court judge’s request on 14 October 2013 Mr Khalikov’s request for asylum was rejected.”
21.  On 1 July 2013 the applicant lodged a request seeking refugee status. In the same terms as in the aforementioned expulsion proceedings, he referred to the risk of being tortured and cited international reports and the Article 3 case-law of the Court regarding extraditions to Uzbekistan.
22.  On 14 October 2013 the Moscow branch of the Federal Migration Service rejected the application and on 9 December 2013 the Federal Migration Service upheld that decision. On 18 January 2014 the applicant challenged the refusal before the courts.
23.  On 20 March 2014 the Basmanniy District Court of Moscow found that the applicant had not produced sufficient evidence of the risk of persecution and dismissed his appeal. The court found that the applicant “was not being prosecuted, had no criminal record and did not hold membership of any political, religious, [or] military organisations”. It further observed that the acts the applicant was charged with were also criminal under Russian criminal law. The District Court observed that the applicant had applied for asylum only after his arrest in Russia rather than immediately after arriving in Russia. The applicant appealed to the Moscow City Court.
24.  On 28 July 2014 the Moscow City Court, relying on essentially the same reasons as the District Court, upheld the first-instance judgment on appeal. The text of the appeal judgment did not mention the applicant’s arguments regarding the risk of ill-treatment or assess that risk, but rather stated that the applicant was afraid of being “subjected to a[n] [allegedly] fabricated prosecution for the religious convictions imputable to him” in the event of his return to Uzbekistan.